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Friday, March 31, 2017

For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the
face of the whole earth. – Luke 21:35

I’m a couple of days late with this. Yes, I meant to say
days.

On God's calendar, the New Year, and the first month of God's
year, just began with the sighting of the first sliver of the moon on the evening of Wednesday, March 29th. According to God's calendar, we just began the New Year.

This is significant because in the Jewish law, on the 10th day of the first month, the Jews were to bring a spotless lamb into their homes. This lamb was to be the
symbolic sacrifice that celebrated their deliverance out of Egypt. It was the
blood of this lamb on the door posts which caused the Angel of Death to Pass
Over them. To make things very clear that He was the perfect sacrificial lamb, Jesus rode into
Jerusalem (Israel's home) on a donkey on the 10th day of the first month. Later in that week, He
was sacrificed in the same way and for the same purpose as the sacrificial
lambs of the Passover.

It is likely that few of those who are reading this post are Jews.
As Christian, we are called by the name of Jesus, but we share two feast days
with the Jews. Both of which are extremely significant. The first feast we
share with the Jews is the Passover, though we look at it a little differently with the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and then Jesus' death and resurrection. For Christians, this is our
feast of deliverance out of bondage, because our sacrificial lamb, Jesus, was
slain for us and we were covered by His blood so that death will not come to us.

The other feast we share with the Jews is Pentecost, which
is the Jewish Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. This was a celebration of the bringing of the
covenant and the first fruits of the wheat harvest for the Jews. For
Christians, Pentecost was the arrival of Jesus' covenant of the Holy Spirit to dwell
in us, the New Covenant, but the significance of the first fruits of wheat
shouldn’t be lost on us either, as Jesus often refers to the planting and
harvesting of wheat in parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. (This is incidental to my post, but in Daniel's counting, Shavuots had extreme significance and are regularly misunderstood when people discuss End Times prophesies.)

While everyone's focus is on the fall festivals of the Jews, especially those setting dates for the rapture, the beginning of the tribulation, etc., we Christians need to focus on OUR festivals, because we are not a part of the
Jewish covenant. We are a part of the NEW covenant of Jesus. Though we cannot
know the exact day and hour of Jesus' return, we can know the SEASON. I believe that the next 60 days or so, are HIGH
times to be looking for His call to us to come away to Him. At the same time that I am eagerly looking forward to that event, these are also times
when it is easy for us to be deceived by a false messiah or a false prophet.

Be careful with any celebration or teaching which exalts
anything EXCEPT Jesus, His sovereignty, His glory, His grace and His work in
salvation.

Among the false teachings to look for are individuals standing up
and declaring themselves to be the Messiah, Christ, Jesus or the Savior… seems
like a no brainer, right? Believe it or not, there are those who, "hearing flattering words," will
turn aside and follow a false teacher or a false messiah, because their words
smack with honey. Beware of teachings that exalt freedom, peace, safety,
security, unity, tolerance, the environment, health care and new world order. (Environmental and health care are political objectives that tend to go beyond their stated objectives and are focused on gaining complete control over how people live, work, buy and sell.)

Yes… I did list freedom above.

Apart from God’s righteousness, freedom is rebellion against God and
is a MAJOR stumbling block. It is better to be bound to and abiding in Jesus as a slave than to be free apart from God’s righteousness. (I will take up this topic in a different blog someday.)

The signs and season of Jesus’ return are here and we should be
anticipating His return. Jesus tells us how to anticipate His return after
explaining what the End of the Age would look like in Luke 21. He said:

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed
down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on
you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the
face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be
counted worthyto escape all these things that will come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of Man.” – Luke 21:34-36

Do not be a dweller of this earth who are concerned with the snares and cares of this earth!

We are dwellers of heaven
who are on a missionary trip to the earth. If your heart and your hope rest in
the things of the earth, then you need to ask Jesus for a change of
perspective. If you continue as a dweller of the earth, then you are putting
yourself at risk to be deceived. Return to Jesus, focus on abiding in Him and
being a dweller of heaven whose hope is in heaven and not upon this earth.

Today, Saturday, Sunday and Monday are four critical days in
the Quail Songs and Canciones de Codorniz devotionals. Their purpose is to draw
you into a deeper abiding with Jesus as your true Lord and Savior. I’m asking
three things of everyone who reads this post:

1.I am calling you to pay attention, read and
apply the words of scripture that are being shared these four days to your
lives. Whether you agree with me or not is not important. Apply the words of
scripture that I am sharing to your life.

2.Share these devotionals to family, friends and acquaintances
that need Jesus in their lives or need to experience renewal in Him.

3.Pray that Jesus will be exalted in the lives of
your friends, family and acquaintances throughout these four days and
throughout the coming season.

Exalting Jesus above ourselves and all other things is
the best defense against deception.

Here are the links to the English and Spanish versions of
the Quail Songs Daily Devotionals:

Monday, March 27, 2017

No matter how big of a box you build, God won’t fit inside
of it. No matter how clever you think you are in figuring out the riddles
contained in the scriptures concerning the second coming of Jesus, God is still
going to work beyond your wisdom to carry out His will. Therefore, the ONLY
thing to expect concerning Jesus’ second coming is the unexpected. His second
coming will be just like His first; unpredictable. Consider this passage from the seventh
chapter of John:

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying,
said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.”

But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not
the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the
town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So there was a division among the people
because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on
Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”

The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived?
Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that
does not know the law is accursed.”

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them)
said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he
is doing?”

They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee?
Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” - John 7:40-52

Jesus didn’t fit into their box. According to what they knew
about Him, He didn’t come out of Bethlehem, He came from Nazareth in Galilee.
We only know better because we have the gospels and the books of the New
Testament. The major point to understand here is that Jesus didn’t fit into
their box; in fact, Jesus was a law breaker because He healed on the Sabbath
and He was a blasphemer because He claimed to be the Son of God. Look at
another discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees in the fifth chapter of
John:

“But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works
which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness
of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has
testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His
form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him
you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing
to come to Me that you may have life.” – John 5:36-40

We are in exactly the same situation now. Those who are
building boxes (or timelines) to fit Jesus into for His second coming are
committing the exact same error. In fact, when I called out a particular date setter concerning an error in his interpretation, He told me that I am ignorant, another not so nice name, which I won't repeat here, and then assured me that his timeline was elegant and bulletproof and was put together by great theological minds.

We can see the signs, just as Jesus said we
would, but we don’t really know the who, what, when, where, why and how things are going to play out. There are
plenty of holes that no one knows how to explain. Here is an example of one of
those errors, but there are many.

Many are saying that a third temple must be built so that
the Anti-Christ can stop the sacrifice in the temple. Yet the scriptures teach
that our bodies are the temple in which Christ now dwells in spirit and truth.
Additionally, Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, which fulfilled the purpose of
sacrifices; atonement for sin. With those two things in mind, why does God need
a third temple and why would He be angry if sacrifices in it were stopped? I
would think that the exact opposite would be true. The building of a third
temple and resumed sacrifices would anger God, because it rejects the new
covenant that He made through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

Let me ask a few more questions. Isn’t there already an abomination
which causes desolation sitting in a place where it should not be? Isn’t there
an anti-Christ sitting on the temple mount of Jerusalem? Could we be
constructing our timelines based on certain passages of scripture that we draw
out to use as building material and by doing so we’re missing critical truths? The Pharisees did,
what makes us think we are above that now?

Return to the passage from John 5 above. Why didn’t the
Pharisees see the truth? Jesus explains clearly in verse 38, “But you do not
have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.”
Constructing timelines and boxes to hold God in are completely backward and
cause the scriptures to become an enormous stumbling block.

Brothers and sisters, work on causing the Word of God to
abide in you rather than using it to build a box in which to put God. Jesus
will come in the same way that He came the first time; unpredictably. The only thing to
expect is the unexpected. Be found in Jesus, because the who, what, when,
where, how and why won’t matter when it all plays out. The ONLY thing that will
matter will be whether or not you and Jesus have a relationship.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

“And donotfear those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28

This post is not going to be an easy one, nor is it going to
cause me to gain all sorts of popularity among Christians or anyone else for
that matter. I do not belong to the Pre-trib, Mid-trib or Post-trib camps.
There is valid, scriptural support for each of the three views. Some might
accuse me of being wishy-washy for not coming down in one of the three camps
and taking a stand. That’s their opinion.

In my personal experience and from what I have read in the
Bible, I believe that the greatest error that Christians can make is to force
God into a box and attempt to adamantly state that God will act in a specific
way in a particular situation. The Jewish leaders were experts in the
scriptures, yet because they had formed a box for God and placed the Messiah
inside that box, they didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah. I believe that our
modern, expert theologians run the same risk when attempting to define what,
when, where, why and how in relation to the End of the Age and the rapture or
calling away of the Bride of Christ.

Here’s the part that’s going to kill my popularity. It
really doesn’t matter when we are called away. Just in case you’re wondering if
I really wrote that, I’ll write it again. It really doesn’t matter when we are
called away. Here it is in bold print…

IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHEN WE ARE CALLED AWAY.

There is WAY TOO MUCH focus on the signs. There is way too
much speculation on the dates. There is way too much focus on guessing who the
anti-Christ is and when he will appear. There is way too much focus on whether
or not there will be a third temple built in Jerusalem. There is way too much
attention given to Jesus returning on particular feast days and sticking to God’s
divine calendar. The list goes on and on and on and on, those confessing Christ
are far too focused on these things and ignoring what really matters. Should we
be watching? Yes, we should be watching. Should we be recognizing the signs as
they appear? Yes, we should recognize the signs and even share them with
others. Should we be anticipating the return of Jesus? Overwhelmingly yes, we
should be anticipating the return of Jesus. What we should not be expecting or
anticipating is that we will escape tribulation. Oops, I did it again, I made
another unpopular statement. I’ll repeat it as well. What we should not be expecting
or anticipating is that we will escape tribulation.

WHAT WE SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTING OR ANTICIPATING IS THAT WE
WILL ESCAPE TRIBULATION.

In fact, the overwhelming evidence from cover to cover of
the Bible suggests that those who profess Jesus will not only face tribulation,
but will face The Tribulation. I’m not saying this out of any sort of arrogance
or pride or prophetic authority. I am as eager to be caught up before The
Tribulation hits as you are, but the fact of the matter is that the whole of
scriptures shows that God is glorified when the people who are called by His
name are put to the test. Do I need to make a list for you? How about if I just
toss out a few names like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Noah, Job, Moses, Joshua, Samson,
Gideon, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Isaiah, Daniel, Peter and Paul. Oops, I
forgot one, Jesus.

We are extremely arrogant to think that we can skate right
into heaven at a leisurely pace with our hands behind our backs because we
believed in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and were “born again.” This next
question is directed right at you. What makes you such a great hero of the
faith that you will be allowed to escape tribulation when none of these others,
including Jesus, escaped it? Stop reading right here if that angered you. The
words that follow will mean nothing to you unless that question humbled you.

Other than the Christians in some parts of the world that
are being tortured, beheaded and killed for confessing Jesus, modern Christians
are wimps. I AM A CHRISTIAN WIMP. I’ve never been truly tested in my faith to
the point of death. I have a nice place to live with all of the modern
conveniences. I don’t starve. I have plenty of clean water. I use the
facilities and flush the waste away. I drop my garbage down a chute and someone
else hauls it away every night. I’m free to sing and praise the Lord without
anyone threatening to kill me. I can speak my mind without being arrested and
thrown into prison. The worst persecution I can expect is someone being “offended”
on Facebook.

If we are to be prepared to face tribulation, then we need
to be asking ourselves some very hard questions and looking for the answers to
those questions in Jesus. Here are those questions:

·If all of the modern conveniences that you take
for granted were suddenly gone, where would you turn? If clean water quit
coming through the tap, if you had to start living in a shed without your wi-fi,
your television and your recliner, if you couldn’t drive to the grocery store
and stock up, if your storage of food and equipment and all of the prepping
that you’ve done had exploded or been wiped out, and if you had to dig your own
hole to bury your waste, then where would you turn?

·If a gun was placed to your forehead and you
were told to deny Jesus or go to meet Him, how would you respond? That’s the
easy one, right? What if that gun was held to the heads of your wife and your
children and/or grandchildren and you were told to deny Jesus or they would be
sent to meet Him? What if because you refused to deny Jesus you saw your wife
and your children raped and/or tortured?

·What if you were watching your family starve to
death and a relief agency pulled up with a truck loaded with food and fresh
water and that you could have all the food that you and your family needed if
you’d just allow a tiny little mark or chip to be installed in your hand or on
your forehead?

Could you endure these things and more still singing “What a
Friend We Have in Jesus”? I don’t know that I could endure those things. I’ll
admit it plainly. I hope with every ounce of hope in me that I won’t have to
endure those things, but I have to expect them and anticipate them in order to
drive me to my knees and remind me that it will not be my will that is done,
but God’s. It will not be my strength that allows me to endure them, but that
of Jesus living within me.

A merciful God would NEVER do that! Really? What did Job
have and lose? What did God’s own Son endure? What did those great heroes of
the faith between them, which we read about with a sense of literary glibness,
endure? Consider Psalm 18, what do you think David was enduring or seeing in a
vision when he wrote those words? Where did David turn?

We have to put aside our arrogance. We have to understand
that our ONLY hope is to be found in Jesus. My daily devotional, Quail Songs,
hammers away on that theme every day, because HE is our ONLY hope. HE is our
Rock and our Fortress. JESUS is our salvation. JESUS is our strength, our joy,
our song, our patience, our endurance, our deliverance, our intelligence, our
future, our shield, our EVERYTHING.

JESUS IS OUR EVERYTHING.

I earnestly pray that I won’t have to endure The
Tribulation. If I do, I earnestly pray that I won’t have to endure all of it.
If I do have to endure all of it, I pray with all that is within me that Jesus will
carry me through it and I won’t try to do it on my own, because I WILL FAIL.

Too many who confess Jesus are looking toward the coming
tribulation with a glib attitude, believing that they’ll just sail right into
heaven in the winking of an eye. It is that glibness which makes me believe
that we will probably have to face, at least, some of The Tribulation. I
believe that the Bride of Christ will be purified. I believe that Jesus will be
doing some separating between those who have truly humbled themselves and
confessed Him as Lord from those who believe they’ll just skate leisurely into
heaven. The preponderance of scripture does not support the idea of a leisurely
stroll into heaven.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a
servant above his master.It is enough for a disciple that he
be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.” - Matthew 10:24 & 25

IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHEN WE ARE CALLED AWAY.

Those who will enter the throne room of God confessing Jesus
as Lord will do so humbly. They will not be counting on their own
righteousness, that day they walked the isle, that day they were dunked in
water, that day they started speaking in tongues, that seminary degree or the
fact that they happened to guess right on God’s timeline of End Times Events. The
elect of Jesus will come before the throne of God on their knees, knowing that
they are deserving of the same treatment that was dished out upon Jesus before
He was crucified. The elect will know that there is no hope for them apart from
Jesus as they bow before God.

HUMBLE YOURSELVES! in the sight of the Lord, and He will
lift you up. – James 4:10

Our great God and His Son, Jesus, are HOLY! If it is in
their will that you should suffer The Tribulation, then count it as great joy
and a small price to pay for what your savior endured to deliver you. You might
have to go through The Tribulation, but if you truly count upon Jesus as your
Lord, if He truly reigns in your life, if He is truly your hope and salvation,
and if He has placed the seal of His salvation within you, then through JESUS you
WILL endure it.

FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS ON JESUS!

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he shall be My son. – Revelation 21:7

Tribulation or no tribulation, your ONLY hope of being
called away to meet Jesus in the air, at any point, is found in the Great and
Worthy Lamb of God. Stop worrying over the what, when, where, why and how of
what is coming and fix a steady gaze upon your ONLY savior. Look into His eyes
and get ready for the ride He has in store for you. Let God and His Worthy Lamb
be glorified! Amen.

“Take your sling and five smooth stones and go out to meet
him,” Jesus directed.

I put a stone in my sling and slung it with all the strength
I had in me. Jesus guided the stone to strike the giant in the head and he died
at my feet.

“Prophesy the words I direct you to prophesy,” Jesus
demanded.

“My lips are unclean. I am not worthy,” I replied.

Jesus touched a burning coal to my lips, cleansed them and
His words flowed from my mouth.

“Do not cease your prayers to me,” Jesus ordered.

“But if I continue praying, I’ll be cast into a den of
lions,” I cried.

I obeyed Him and was cast into a den of lions, but their
mouths were shut tightly and they did not harm me.

“Follow me,” Jesus said.

“I’m just an ignorant fisherman,” I answered.

“I will make you a fisherman after the souls of men,” He replied.

I followed and saw the blind be made to see, the lame made to walk, the deaf made to hear, the mute able to speak, the sick restored to health, those possessed by demons set free and the dead raised to life. I spoke and communed with God made manifest in the flesh, saw Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain and heard the voice of God.

“Go to the gentile nations and proclaim My Word,” Jesus
ordered.

“But I am the one who is persecuting them for believing in
you,” I responded.

I obeyed Him and all of the nations of the earth heard the
Word of the Truth because of the testimony I passed along to those who had never heard of Jesus.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

Sheep don't wear wool; they grow it.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. - Matthew 7:15

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